Attorney General Smith Expected To Announce He`ll Seek Third Term

April 10, 1985|By Linda Kleindienst, Tallahassee Bureau Chief

TALLAHASSEE — Attorney General Jim Smith, who supports a constitutional amendment to restrict Cabinet members to two terms, is expected to announce within the week that he will seek a third term in 1986.

Charles Whitehead, Florida Democratic Party chief, said Tuesday he`d heard from Smith aides that the attorney general wants to serve another four years.

Don North, Smith`s executive assistant, said the attorney general has not yet decided when the announcement will come but ``I expect he will seek re- election.``

Whitehead said he`d had no personal conversations with Smith on the race, adding, ``I only asked him to remain a Democrat.``

Up until early last month, Smith, 44, had been considered a prime Democratic contender in the 1986 governor`s race. But, at the urging of state and national Republican leaders, he had a brief flirtation with the GOP.

Shortly after a visit to the White House and a meeting with President Reagan`s top political adviser, however, Smith declined the invitation to switch parties and announced the timing was not right for him to run for governor.